Schools, hiring and DEI 

Throughout the Rochester area, tens of thousands of K-12 students—at least 80 percent of students in 11 districts surveyed by the Beacon—attend public schools where teachers and administrators are asked before hiring to explain their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most of these job applicants are required to submit written DEI statements.

The use of required DEI statements—also called diversity statements—by American schools and colleges increased in recent years as DEI initiatives proliferated. In New York, the Board of Regents and state Education Department have supported DEI efforts since 2021 and in August 2023 notified all school districts in the state that they are expected to “develop policies and implement practices that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

But support for the use of DEI statements in hiring recently has begun to wane as some of the nation’s top colleges and universities have dropped them. In 2024—before the Nov. 6 election—the University of Michigan, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all ended use of DEI statements. MIT president Sally Kornbluth said at the time that the university could “build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”

And now, school districts that use DEI statements could be at substantial risk financially. The Trump administration has issued an executive order threatening to cut off federal funding for the continued use of DEI in teacher hiring and instruction. A lot of money is at stake: Local school districts in the Rochester area receive millions of dollars in federal support.

Kevin McGowan, superintendent of the Brighton Central School District, says a conversation about possible funding cuts tied to DEI—both among his leadership team and with other school superintendents—has been “constant” since President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Differing views

DEI statements are part of a job application where candidates are required to state in writing or during interviews their understanding of diversity and equity issues, how they have contributed to DEI in the past and, if hired, how they will work to support DEI practices.

As an example, applicants for administrative positions at Brighton schools— including principals—are asked to submit a written statement “that shows your past and current efforts, as well as, future plans to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the Brighton Central School District.” Teachers applying for jobs in Brighton are asked during interviews how they will contribute to Brighton’s mission of advancing DEI.

Supporters of DEI statements say they help an employer understand how applicants engage with diverse communities and promote an inclusive workplace, and how they will work to create an environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

“DEI statements are important for both the employer and the school community because they both need to understand the mindset of the candidate,” says Marlowe V. N. Washington, who worked as a paid diversity consultant to the Brighton schools, including on issues of hiring. Washington, former senior diversity officer at St. John Fisher University, is now vice president of people, culture, and equity at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts. “DEI statements,” he says, “show the applicant’s commitment to DEI and how they will insert that practice in their pedagogy, in their classroom, and in their curriculum.”  

Opponents of DEI statements contend they are a form of compelled political speech, a political litmus test that promotes ideological conformity or “groupthink,” and that they encourage candidates who think differently to lie about their beliefs. DEI statements are reminiscent, they say, of 1950s McCarthyism when individuals with disfavored beliefs were rooted out and blacklisted by overzealous government officials.

“If a school district says to job applicants that we focus on DEI in everything we do,” says Carmen Lonardo, cofounder of the parents’ group, Penfield United for Education Excellence, “and if they get a negative or even skeptical response from a teaching candidate, would that preclude that person from being hired? If so, that becomes a problem.

“If you’re going to promote diversity, then you should promote diversity of thought too,” he adds. “School is supposed to be where kids are taught critical thinking, but how do you do that if they’re fed only one point of view? And how does a quasi-government institution like a public school represent all stakeholders if it only espouses one point of view?”

“Job seekers who disagree with the ideological premises” of DEI, wrote the liberal-leaning Washington Post in a 2024 editorial, “have an overwhelming incentive to suppress their true beliefs, or pretend to have the ‘right” ones. … Whatever their original intent, the use of DEI statements has too often resulted in self-censorship and ideological policing.”

DEI in local schools’ hiring

To assess how DEI statements are used locally and what impact they may have on continued federal funding, the Beacon asked 11 area public school districts—10 suburban towns plus the city of Rochester—about their use of these statements in hiring. Many replied voluntarily; others responded to requests made under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.

Nearly all local districts surveyed use some form of DEI statement, although they differ broadly in form and application: Most districts ask about past efforts to support DEI while some are only forward-looking; some reference “diversity and inclusion” but not “equity”; some use DEI statements for administrative positions but not faculty or vice versa; most require written statements but some only ask about support for DEI in interviews.

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Of the 11 districts surveyed, eight confirmed that they require written DEI statements and/or ask candidates about their support for DEI during interviews.

About 58,486 students, or 80 percent of the estimated 72,789 students in the districts surveyed, attend K-12 schools where job applicants are asked about their commitment to advancing DEI.

The real percentage may be higher: the Beacon asked the three districts that say they don’t require written DEI statements—East Rochester, Fairport, and Webster—if, instead, they ask candidates about their commitment to DEI during oral interviews. East Rochester responded that it does not; Fairport and Webster did not respond. But even in these three districts, job candidates are informed through statements on the district’s website or directly on application forms that the district supports DEI and seeks staff who will do the same.

Threat to end federal funding

Under the Trump Administration, the use of DEI statements and other diversity and equity policies could jeopardize federal funding to local schools. The president’s Jan. 29 executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” gives the Secretary of Education 90 days to develop a strategy including steps to block federal funds to K-12 public schools that support the “instruction, advancement, or promotion (of) discriminatory equity ideology” in … “teacher certification, licensing, employment, or training.”

In a follow-up advisory letter dated Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education asserts that “K-12 schools have routinely used race as a factor in … hiring, training, and other institutional programming,” maintaining that some schools use “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programming to justify discriminatory practices. The letter says further “legal guidance” will follow and, in the meantime, invites anyone who believes a K-12 school has “unlawfully discriminated” to file a complaint with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights using an online complaint form.   

While local taxes and state funding account for the lion’s share of most school budgets, federal money is significant. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, most suburban school districts receive millions of dollars in federal funds, often 2 to 5 percent of annual budgets. An even larger share of the Rochester City School District’s budget comes from the federal government: In fiscal year 2021-2022, the city school district received about $267 million or 24 percent of its budget.

The Brighton school district receives about $2.3 million, or 2 to 3 percent of its annual budget, in federal funds for direct use with its students, McGowan says. “That’s a huge dollar amount” whose loss would be “a significant problem.”

He questions, though, whether the administration has the legal authority to end certain funding given that the funding is provided for in laws passed by Congress. (On Feb. 25, the American Federation of Teachers and other plaintiffs filed suit in federal court to block the Trump administration directive.)

As to continued use of DEI statements, McGowan says, “I have a pragmatic responsibility to make sure we’re not doing things that could jeopardize funding and that would impact our kids, so in terms of the language—diversity, equity, inclusion—we’ll have to look at that, consider the guidance—including from the state Education Department—and determine whether or not we are in compliance.”

McGowan says use of DEI statements have positively affected Brighton schools, which he describes as “a pretty diverse” place. “Making sure the district is culturally responsive to all its students is a positive for us and having diversity efforts within our hiring practices” is part of that effort.

 “We’re not trying to hire DEI warriors or social justice warriors,” he adds. “What we’re trying to understand about an applicant is ‘What is your experience thinking about the needs of every individual? What was your success in that, and how would you do that here to help support every group of our kids? That’s the entire gist of it.”

McGowan says he’s not aware of job applicants ever having lied in their DEI statements. The application process, he notes, “is open-ended enough so that we can dig further and get a sense of whether or not people are sincere in their responses.” Nor has any candidate been hired or not hired based only on their response to the DEI statement, he says. “We try hard to never have any one item be a litmus test.”

He does acknowledge that the DEI statement is the only required question in the application process where a candidate is asked about their willingness to advance a particular philosophy. “I am happy to own the fact,” he says, “that (the DEI statement) has definitely been a focus and a priority for us.”

Several other local school superintendents—as well as the local office of New York State United Teachers—were invited to discuss their views on use of DEI statements and the recent Trump executive order, but did not respond.

Megan Ferra, who in 2022 was elected to a three-year term on the Greece Board of Education, is familiar with her district’s use of DEI statements in hiring. It appears on written application forms for both administrators and teachers and reads: “Greece Central School District believes that all students benefit form a culture where diversity, inclusion, and equity with excellence are valued. Please describe how you can draw on your knowledge, experiences, and skills to contribute to our organizational culture.”

“I think sometimes we’re missing the bigger picture about the quality of the teachers we hire,” she says. “Yes, diversity is important—including diversity of thought—but we need to make sure we’re also hiring qualified individuals regardless of ideology who have the exceptional skills necessary to do those jobs.”

Farra and her husband have four children, all of whom attend Greece public schools, elementary through high school.

In teacher hiring, Farra says, “I’d rather see quality and substance over specific ideologies,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean doing away entirely with DEI statements. “If we really worked at it, I think they could be modified so in terms of merit and ideology, we could find the perfect blend.”

Peter Lovenheim is Washington correspondent for the Rochester Beacon. His books include “Gift Shop of Gratitude,” “The Attachment Effect,” “In the Neighborhood,” and “Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf.”

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